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neck of the woods | arts

Holly Gleason, of The Holly Gleason Trio, (fea-
turing “Dr. J” Jeffery Judkins on mandolin and JD Berlingeri
on bass), plays guitar, sings, and writes. You could say Holly’s
inspiration comes straight from the King himself. Just like
in the movies, Holly and her friend (and fellow PHISH and
Matrix head), Sam, were on an epic road trip across the US.
Traveling from NYC to Santa Barbara, they made a stop in Graceland.
Holly shared, “At the end of the Graceland tour, I touched Elvis’ grave
and felt a bolt of lightning through my inner being and lost all fear
of singing without permission and gained the courage to just sing,
any time anywhere, no concern of judgement or approval of others.
After returning home I missed my adventure buddy so I picked up the
guitar I'd never really learned how to play and started strumming and
singing through my emotions. I guess you could say that after that I
just never stopped.

“I felt I'd found my truth. Throughout my songwriting journey I've
found that feelings of love and overcoming fear...courage...inspire me
most to write and to sing. Also joy...my joy, collective joy...makes me
sing out in jubilee. Feeling free inspires me, as does feeling bound.
Singing blasts away all self-imposed boundaries. It is truly exhilarating.”

That drive brought her to the stage at the Temecula Balloon and
Wine Festival where Kenny Loggins was the headliner.

Find Holly Gleason” on Facebook, Spotify, ITunes, and YouTube. Look for the soon to be released
studio album under the moniker, Sister Uprising, and another album of folk and Americana
originals will be recorded soon with JD and Dr. J (band name yet to be determined).

“DEEP CONNECTION THAT COMES

FROM SHARING SOMETHING

YOU’VE CREATED AND LOVE,

WITH FANS WHO LOVE YOUR

WORK AND ALLOW YOUR

MUSIC TO BECOME THEIR LIFE’S

SOUNDTRACK—THAT IS AN

INCREDIBLE HONOR.”

58 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | fall 2020